We had hot summers in the deep south where I grew up and we did not have air conditioning at that time. The heat was hard for me even then, but as I grew older and developed fibromyalgia and other autoimmune illnesses, I could hardly keep from passing out when getting too hot.
My precious brothers and my father worked out in the blazing hot sun day after day on the farm. How grateful they would have been for the automated farm machinery used today. I don't know how they didn't drop or become dehydrated from sweating so much,
Today, my father would have been accused of child abuse for working his kids out in the hot sun, but back in the forties and fifties children had to work many times to help support the family.
The weather did not cool off even after the sun went down.
A 300 year-old oak tree grew beside our house and shaded my bedroom during the day. Often after supper the kids went outside under that tree searching for coolness. My little sister and I, with my teen aged brother, often settled into a rope hammock and Max told stories from books he had read.
Once we had to go in, being a night owl, I could not fall asleep. I sat on the foot of my bed and leaned on my crossed arms in the window. I loved the quiet of the night, the smells of cows and flowers and sometimes I heard the far off croaking of frogs in the swamp. The moon gave the landscape, that was familiar during the day, a yellowish glow. I could have walked around outside and not bumped into anything because the moon shined so brightly. I could see shapes, big and small. but some things loomed much larger in the dark than in the daylight. Those things set my imagination into high gear. What fearful creature was there in the night where a piece of farm equipment was supposed to be?
Children are resilient, aren't they? I don't remember ever complaining about the heat. Mother didn't complain as she wiped drops of perspiration off her face. The kitchen was even hotter than the outdoors where at least a breeze might stir the air.
I think I will find out who made my life so much better, probably saved my life, by creating air conditioning for homes. I want to write an ode to the man who invented AC.
How are you handling this hot summer? Do you enjoy the heat or do you avoid it as much as I do?
I am grateful that we are in winter.
ReplyDeleteMy autoimmune disorder is MS, and like many with the dread disease heat is not my friend.
I too am a huge fan of air conditioning, and will join in you in your tribute to its inventor.
I hope you can find relief.
I enjoyed reading your memories of your hot young summers. I grew up in southern NJ, where the summers were hot and humid and no AC in the homes. But my brother had asthma, so when we were about 4 and 6 (I was the oldest) my parents bought a small AC unit JUST for my brother's room. I was so jealous! I understood (about as much a 6-year-old can understand) that my brother needed it for his health, but really.. wasn't I important too? I spent many a summer night sneaking into his room and sleeping on the floor on July and August nights. :-)
ReplyDeleteNow during the hottest part of the day, I've retreated to my armchair directly under the ceiling fan. They say great minds think alike. I just finished a post on my own blog about hot weather that will go live tomorrow. Stay cool.
ReplyDeleteEC, I have two people close to me who have MS and I know the heat is hard for them. Today was really rough for me as I had to be outside and exerting myself. Tonight I have my AC going strong and I will sleep cool. Thanks for leaving your comment.
ReplyDeleteHi roughwithing, I enjoy your blog. Thanks for visiting mine. I forget that it can be hot in states north of us. I think the humidity is what makes it really bad and hard to breathe.
ReplyDeleteYes, we all need to thank Mr. A.C. inventor, especially this summer in the U.S.
I enjoyed reading about your childhood growing up on the farm. It brought back many memories. We used to sit on the front porch of the evening until it got cool. We didn't know anything about air-conditioning back then. We worked in the garden, too. Seems like we never minded the heat like now. Times change.
ReplyDelete